Moniker
by Zaedah
Summary: Like any toddler, perhaps she just needed to learn how to share.


I have yet to find this pairing. Forgive me, all ye die-hard Nat/Connor fans. If you must stone me, be gentle. This is pre-divorce.

**Moniker**

The ringing phone slowly caressed her out of marvelous dreams. Coming to wakefulness, Lisa Connor chided herself for the daytime thoughts of him that placed him so firmly into her unconscious mind.

"Hello?" Her sleep-laden voice croaked.

"It's me." Stephen Connor's equally tired tone floated across the line. "Did I wake you?"

Yes and I was dreaming of you, she wanted to say. "No, it's only…12:57 am. I'm crocheting and baking simultaneously." She could sense him cringe at her cynicism and she rebuked her tongue. "What's up?" She asked in a forced lightness.

"I'm sorry, Lis. It was the only number I could remember. Just… talk to me for a while… keep me awake?"

Lisa sat up in bed, noticing for the first time the hum of his truck's engine. "How long have you been driving?"

"Airport's closed. Hotels are snowed in. I need to get back to the lab."

Of course he does, she thought. "You didn't answer my question. How long?"

First the sigh, then the answer. "Hours."

"And when did you last sleep?"

There was a momentary silence on the line. "I don't know. Sunday?"

And it was Thursday… well Friday now. Forgetting the fury at his frequent disregard for personal time, the reason for their separation, she focused on his safety. She needed to keep him talking.

"Okay, so tell me where you've been?" She asked while settling into the pillows, letting his voice wash over her.

"Nebraska. Tainted organic milk produced seizures at a college. And then there was the sorority ailment…"

"And now there's snow?"

"Actually, in Michigan and Ohio."

She tried to call a map to mind. "So where are you now?"

"Just entering Pennsylvania. Only a few hours til Maryland." The relief in his voice was overshadowed by the sheer exhaustion.

Lisa snuggled into the blankets further, imagining he was here with her. "So, guess what your son did today…" She launched into a tale of frogs caught and hidden. Following this was her mother's latest adventure and her workday. Stephen listened to her, but said very little, and she knew he was concentrating on the road. She made up for it, speaking more than she had in the last year and felt a deep gratitude that he chose to call her tonight. He loved her, that much she'd known. But tonight he needed her, relied on her and she hadn't experienced that in a long time. It warmed her, as did the familiar cadence of his voice.

"I'm in Bethesda." He informed her at 4:15 am. "Go back to sleep."

Her next words tumbled out without thought. "Come home."

"I'm fine." He tried to assure her but his drained tone gave him away. "We still have reports to finish…"

We meant him, she knew. "Did you lose anyone?"

"Yeah." He acknowledged quietly.

"Come home." She repeated firmly.

He seemed to be considering the offer, then sighed. "I've taken up enough of your night… well, morning."

"And I'm still your wife, Dr. Connor. I'll be waiting." She disconnected, stopping any argument, then moved to the vanity to freshen up. It was entirely possible her stubborn husband would not show, opting instead to head for his precious NIH. Just the thought turned her blood cold. His job took him away from her and Jack, monopolizing his time and attention, yet he was drawn to it like a beacon. Stephen's inner drive to heal was one of the reasons she fell in love with him. But the NIH gave him the freedom to take any measure and length to do just that. They allowed him ultimate control and his determined, perfectionistic nature made him go too far. 20 minutes of pondering later, she heard a truck engine's rumble grow louder, then stop. He was here and Jack was not, having gone to a friend's. The images that flitted into her mind brought a blush to her face. He was still the most incredible looking man she'd ever met.

The key he'd refused to return opened the door and she rose to meet him. The sight surprised her. He was beyond exhausted. There was no life behind those startlingly blue eyes, no strength in his movements. She silently took his hand, intending to lead him to bed, but he resisted.

"The couch," he whispered and she turned back to him.

"I don't bite."

"Yes, you do." He reminded her and the memory of nights past made her grin.

"You're too tired for me to follow up that train of thought." She teased.

"We're too separated for me to follow it up." His tone was entirely serious.

She fought to ignore the bait that so often both used. "Come to bed." She instructed.

He pulled out of her grasp, but moved no further. She turned and walked to the bedroom and he trailed after her. The touch of his skin had ignited her and there'd be little sleep possible for her. He got changed while she turned down the covers. A fan was turned on, despite the chill in the air, as she knew he could not sleep without background noise. Why she kept the fan in the room she refused to question. She slid into bed and watched as Stephen placed his cell phone on the nightstand. He lay down slowly on his side, facing her and seemed to take her in.

"I guarantee your phone will ring within the hour." She declared.

"I know." He conceded with a half smile.

She sat up on an elbow and extended a hand. "Give it to me." He studied her for a moment, gauging her seriousness and finding it. He reached back to the phone and dropped it in her waiting hand. "Thank you." She said victoriously, stuffing it into a pillow and slipping it behind her nightstand.

Stephen watched in amusement before closing his eyes. He tucked a forearm beneath his pillow, the other resting in the space between them. She covered his hand with her own and whispered, "Sleep now." His overwhelming exhaustion clashed with the soft warm bed and sleep won. She removed her hand from his, bringing it up to run through his pale blond hair.

Had she ever really tried to understand what he did everyday? She knew the strain it put on their marriage, but she'd never acknowledged the toll it took on him. And she hadn't truly supported him in his instinctual need to heal others. That desire had been present when they'd met in a hallway in 7th grade. That drive had become the overriding priority since he'd returned from his military service. At some moment in her life, not being his priority began to sting, the wound festering in her silence until she could hold her tongue no longer. Arguments, once foreign to their relationship, became the routine. And in the end, she let this man go. Because, in her selfishness, she could no longer share him. But that meant having none of him at all. Laying here now, she couldn't recall how that option seemed acceptable. Was she about to give up being Mrs. Connor based on selfishness? Like any toddler, perhaps she just needed to learn how to share.

As if on cue, his phone rang, muffled by the pillow she'd stashed it in. She leaned to her left and snagged the pillow. Pulling out the phone quickly, she hit the talk icon and held the phone to her ear.

"Dr. Connor's line," she announced in a hushed voice.

"This is Frank Powell from NIH. I'm looking for the boss."

She heard the man's smile across the line. "This is the boss's wife. He's finally getting some sleep and I refuse to wake him."

Powell chuckled. "Gotcha. We're still in Nebraska. Just making sure he got there since he couldn't wait with the rest of us. You know how he is."

"All to well," she assured him "He's fine, just tired."

"Uh, forgive my forwardness, but I'm glad he went to see you, Mrs. Connor."

The comment tugged at her heart. "So am I. And it's Lisa, please. Mrs. Connor hated me in both directions."

"Mother-in-laws are strange beasts. Anyway, I'll check back later."

Once they disconnected, she sank back into the pillows and turned to find Stephen grinning. He'd heard.

"Eavesdropper." She accused with a laugh.

He lifted his head to look at her. "Are you my receptionist now?" He gestured to the phone still in her hand.

She mocked indifference. "You couldn't afford me, sir. Unless you can make it worth my while?"

He stretched himself over her, forearms resting on either side of her head. "Free exams for life?" He suggested.

"Why doctor, are you propositioning me?"

He brushed his lips to hers lightly, heating her blood once more. "And if I was?"

"For life, huh?"

The playful mood turned serious as he nodded, running a hand through her curly hair and she understood what he was asking. She locked her hands behind his head, pulling him down to kiss him hot and hard. Her affirmative answer lay in her touch as her hands roamed across his shoulders and down his chest, feeling his hungry response against her leg. She grinned internally, loving that she could get to him this way. Breaking the kiss, his mouth traced a path along her jaw to her neck. He was about to progress lower still when his cell phone shrieked. She released an unladylike groan and he simply sighed.

"Ignore it," her breathless whisper nearly begged as his attention turned towards the ringing pillow. Her hands returned to his face, turning his eyes to her while her hips ground against him. Leaning down, he captured her lips and the ringing ceased, his voice mail picking up. A heartbeat later, the ringing resumed and she pulled away, handing him the offending device. Reading the conflict in his eyes, she smiled her consent. He lay back into the pillows, covering his eyes with a hand.

"Connor."

And while she shared him once more, Lisa Connor decided to keep her last name…and her man.


End file.
